Plans of Reunion
by Narcolover
Summary: Narco fic. I've completely lost interest in writing this, so it may never get finished, just to warn y'all. Sorry!
1. Let the Games Begin

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor wants the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

AN: I know it's bad to start this story before I finish my other one, but I wanted to write a Narco fic that could actually potentially happen, even if I know it won't.

"This meeting will come to order!" Taylor Doosey yelled, banging his gavel on his podium. No one was listening. "I have an idea that you're all going to like." he tempted. No one turned. He grabbed the megaphone he usually only used for the dance marathon and shouted into it. "Who in this town hated seeing our darling Rory Gilmore with that...vagabond Jess Mariano." He had their attention. He scanned the audience. Excellent. No Rory, no Lorelai, no Luke, no Dean. He had a feeling that this would not go so well if they were there.

"We all did, Taylor." Miss Patty said from her chair beside him.

"Excellent, that's just what I thought. And how many of you think that this Logan kid is any better for her?"

"Well, he is rich." Patty purred.

"And a playboy. And completely wrong for Rory."

"Also true." she acknowledged. "So what do you suggest?"

"I say we get Rory back with Dean."

"That's a great idea, Taylor!" Miss Patty crowed. "That darling, darling, tall boy."

"But how do you propose we do it?" Babette asked.

"Well...I haven't quite thought it out that far. I was actually hoping that some of you might have suggestions."

"Oh, I have the perfect idea, Taylor." Miss Patty crooned. "Just leave it to me."

AN: What do you think? Hate? Love? Forget it and work on my other story? Forget my other story and work on this? Any suggestions?


	2. We've Got Magic to Do

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

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Rory woke up to the incessant ringing of her cell phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Rory, dear, I hope I didn't wake you up." a familiar voice sang into the phone.

"Miss Patty? No, of course you didn't. But why are you calling?" she said, smothering a yawn.

"Well, actually, I have a small favor to ask of you."

"Fire away."

"Well, I'm sure you remember how I taught you ballroom dancing, for your coming out party."

"Oh. Yes, I remember that."

"Well, do you still remember how to do it?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well enough to demonstrate in fromt of the town?"

"Yeah."

"Well, would you be willing to?"

"Demonstrate ballroom dancing for the town? Oh, Miss Patty..."

"It would mean so much to me."

"Oh. Okay."

"Thank you, darling. The first rehearsal is at my studio, tomorrow at 5:00. So I'll see you then?"

"Yeah. Sure. See you tomorrow, Miss Patty." she snapped her phone shut.

"Who was that, Ace?" Logan asked, rolling over to face her.

"Woman from my town. She just roped me into demonstrating something."

"Oh. That's nice." He rolled over and went back to sleep. She looked at him angrily, not quite sure about why she was mad, only knowing that she was. She got up and dressed, and went to go get coffee.

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Patty walked into Doosey's Market. Just as she expected, Dean was there, doing his old job, stocking shelves.

"Hello, Dean."

"Hey. I'm actually kind of busy right now, but-"

"This won't take long. Remember how I taught you ballroom dancing?" Dean didn't answer. Thinking of Rory obviously still hurt. "Well, we're going to have a demonstration. How would you feel about doing it."

"Fine, I guess." She knew he was only saying that to get rid of her, but he had not only agreed to do it, he had proved that he was still in love with Rory. Kind of.

"Practice tomorrow at 5:00."

"Okay." She did what he wanted this time. She walked off and left him alone. She didn't even try to grab his butt. Well, that wouldn't exactly help on her quest to get him back with Rory, but she still regretted her missed chance.

_So, what do you think? Please review._


	3. Back in the Saddle Again

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

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Dean walked into Miss Patty's, and saw Rory standing there, looking uncomfortable, just as she had a little over two years earlier.

_Flashback_

_"Hey"_

_"Hey"_

_"I'm glad you called."_

_"Me too."_

_"Everything okay at home?"_

_"Yeah. Everything's okay."_

_"Good. Did I ever tell you I like your hair?"_

_"My hair?"_

_"Your shorter hair."_

_"It's grown out a little."_

_"I like it."_

_"I like it, too."_

_they kiss_

_"So, um, you wanted to talk?"_

_"Yeah, talk. Words, wow." they kissed harder, more passionately. She pulled on his shoulders, coaxing him down onto the floor of the studio._

_End Flashback_

"Dean? Rory?" Miss Patty's voice broke them out of their daydreams. One look at each other's faces told them they'd been thinking about the same thing. "Are you ready to get started, sweethearts?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah, sure." Dean said, shaking his head as if he could get the memory out of his head.

"Let's go." Rory said, stepping tentatively towards him.

"Excellent. Let's see how much you two remember."

They didn't remember very much, as neither of them had done it in years, and neither of them had been very good in the first place. They barely talked through the whole practice.

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"I've got to get back to school," Rory said after the two most awkward hours she had ever spent. Dean frowned. Shouldn't she have already graduated? He wanted to ask her why she hadn't, but he decided that he shouldn't. The first thing he said to her shouldn't seem like an attack.

"I need to get back to Doose's," he said. Rory frowned. He could do so much more with his life than work for Taylor's little grocery store. Why was he still wasting his potential? She wanted to ask him why he was, but she decided against it. The first thing she said to him shouldn't seem like an attack.


	4. Lost and Found

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

AN: Sorry, I know I'm rushing the plot, but I want to finish the story before I lose my inspiration. It's already partly gone.

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Rory and Dean were locked into Miss Patty's.

The practices after the first one were no better. Rory and Dean hadn't spoken two words in a row to each other, and their dancing skills weren't any better than they had been in the first practice. Patty and Taylor were on their last nerves, and they were beginning to doubt their plan. After a month, during a Friday practice, Miss Patty snapped. She yelled that she was going to lock them in until they could talk to each other. So she threw a couple loaves of bread into the studio and padlocked all of the doors. They hadn't even known that Miss Patty had padlocks.

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"This is awful!" Rory exclaimed after an hour of silence.

"I know," Dean grumbled.

"No, not being locked in. Us! Even when we weren't together, we could always be friends." Dean looked up at her, meeting her gaze for the first time since they'd begun the lessons.

"You still want to be friends?"

"Of course. Do you?" her voice wavered.

"Sure, I just didn't think you did."

"Why would you think that?"

"You never called."

"Neither did you."

"But I broke up with you. I didn't know if you'd be upset."

"Yes, you broke up with me. I thought you must be upset to do that."

"I wasn't."

"Then why did you break up with me?"

"The guilt," he said, looking down on at his hands. "I couldn't look at you without feeling awful for what happened with Lindsay. It was always there, always hanging over us." Rory looked at him, shocked. She hadn't known that. She'd thought he hadn't loved her after all. Would she have thrown herself into her destructive relationship with Logan if she had? "Well, now I've told you my big secret," he half-joked. "Your turn."

"I..." she started. Could she actually tell him this? "I was actually excited when Miss Patty said she was locking us in here." Dean looked at her, a bit taken aback.

"I meant what you were feeling back then."

"Oh," she said, embarrassed.

"But since you mentioned it, why?"

"Well, I wanted us to be friends again, and it didn't seem like that was going to happen." Even in the poor lighting in the dance studio, he could see in her eyes that there was another reason.

"And?" he prompted.

"And nothing," she said too quickly. She knew he didn't believe her, and suddenly she knew that she wanted him to know. "And I wanted to have an excuse to get away from my boyfriend," she admitted. His jaw practically dropped to the floor. "I'll bet you weren't expecting that."

"If I you had made me guess, it would have been pretty low down on my list of guesses. Why don't you break up with him?"

"Because my grandparents love him. They need me with someone they love, after Mom married Luke." Dean turned his head and chuckled disbelievingly into the darkness. "What?"

"Well, just look at you."

"What do you mean?"

"Here you are, in school a year after you should have graduated, dating a guy you don't like just to make your grandparents happy because your mother married the man she was obviously supposed to marry. I just...I expected better from you."

"What about you? You should have graduated last year, too, and you should be working some good job now, or be coaching a sports team, with some beautiful deserving blonde, who I would no doubt hate instantly, as your girlfriend.. You could have done anything with your life, why are you still working at Doose's?"


	5. Secrets and Loans

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

AN: Any DC fans who think they recognize any DJo lines are probably right. I've been in a very Soulmate-y (esp. Coda-y) mood lately. I should probably add to my disclaimer that I'm in no way affiliated with Dawson's Creek, either.

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"_What about you? You should have graduated last year, too, and you should be working some good job now, or be coaching a sports team, with some beautiful deserving blonde, who I would no doubt hate instantly, as your girlfriend. You could have done anything with your life, why are you still working at Doose's?"_

Rory glared at Dean, and he glared back at her. They'd both insulted each other, but they both felt as if the other one had insulted them more. "I'm working at Doose's to earn extra money to help my parents pay for college," Dean finally said.

"Oh," Rory shrank. Of course, his charges had to be true, and hers weren't.

"Just wondering, but why do you picture me with a blonde? I've dated three girls, you, Lindsay, and Beth, back in Chicago before we met, and Lindsay was the only blonde."

"I don't know. I don't really, I was just on a roll, and blonde was faster to say than brunette." He laughed at that. She was glad that he hadn't asked her why she'd hate this mythical college girlfriend of his.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything. For not telling you why I was ending things. For making you into the other woman. For what I said earlier."

"Don't be. You were right about what you said, and I've never thought you made me into the other woman. I did that to myself. And about the other, well, if I had known why you broke up with me, I would definitely be in a different place right now, but that's okay."

"You'd have graduated, you mean?" Rory was silent. "Why? What happened?"

"I thought I was a part of that world you left me in, and I started acting like it."

"So, it's my fault that you didn't graduate," Dean said, his voice laced with guilt and pain.

"No, it's mine. For thinking that the only way to let you go was to let myself go, too. I'm onto you, you know. You can't keep it a secret forever."

"Keep what a secret?"

"How incredible you are. You're the most amazing person that I've ever met, and I've missed you so much since that party. Wherever you go, where ever your life takes you, you will always have a piece of my heart." Even in the dark, she could feel that she had embarrassed him. "It doesn't have to be a huge part," she reassured him quickly.

"Just enough," he agreed. "You know, I could say all those things about you, too. They'd all be true. More true than they are about me."


	6. The Fundamental Things Apply

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

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"Where's Rory?" Lorelai asked.

"How would I know?" Luke grumbled. "You've been asking me that for the past hour and a half, and I've been saying that every time you asked me, I said the same thing."

"I know, I just want to see how long it will take you to crack and say something else."

"Such as?"

"I don't know, maybe 'why don't you call her?'"

"Ask me again."

"Okay, Luke, where's Rory?"

"I don't know, why don't you call her?"

"My, my, what an excellent idea, I'll try that right now," she said, reaching for the phone. Luke rolled his eyes at his wife. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Lorelai asked, faking scandal.

"How did you-?"

"Eyes in the back of my head. Oh, oh, it's ringing." Lorelai sat silently with the phone to her ear for a couple minutes before sliding it back on the cradle. "Luke, she's not answering. Where's Rory?"

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"Aren't you going to answer that?" Dean asked, gesturing at Rory's ringing cell phone. She turned it off without checking the incoming number.

"It's probably Logan. I don't want to talk to him."

"Why didn't you check the number?"

"I don't know. That might have been a good idea, but I really don't want to turn it back on and check. Do you mind?"

"If you don't check your cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"What reason could I possibly have for minding?"

"It could be Miss Patty, calling to say she was unlocking the doors."

"Nah, this is more interesting. And it's not like I have a class tomorrow."

"Good, I'd rather be in here with you than out in the big, bad world, too."


	7. In The Clamor and The Clangor

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

AN: Heh, I realized halfway through this chapter that I had Rory and Dean locked in Miss Patty's, and a town meeting going on (which takes place at Miss Patty's), so I decided that the town meetings were moved to the Old Twickham House after the museum closed, and Luke decided he didn't want to buy the place.

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"Patty, you can't just lock them in your studio!" Taylor yelled, exasperated, at the town meeting."That's kidnapping!"

"They're both over 18, and they entered willingly."

"Then it's a hostage situation. Patty, you cannot hold hostages, it will reflect poorly on the Stars Hollow Business Association, the Stars Hollow Tourist Board, the Stars Hollow Neighborhood Watch Organization, and the Stars Hollow Citizens for a Clean Stars Hollow Council!"

"You mean you, Taylor?"

"I'm warning you, Patty, there will be some very unhappy people at the next meetings of the S.H.B.A., the S.H.T.B., the S.H.N.W.O. and the S.H.C.C.S.H.C. who will no doubt reprimand you for your abuse of their good names."

"Taylor, no one is in any of those societies except for you!" The doorswung open and Lorelai and Luke walked in.

"Lorelai, you're late," Taylor reprimanded. It was always best to keep up pretenses.

"I am not late, I'm just...delayed."

"Delayed..."

"Timely challenged," she tried again.

"Timely challenged...That all adds up to the same thing, Lorelai. You are late. And you have french fries!"

"These are not french fries, they're, they're..."

"You must think I'm really stupid. Maybe I used to fall for that, but I've learned my lesson. You're breaking two rules, Lorelai. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you and your husband to leave."

"What!" she exclaimed.

"Come on, Lorelai," Luke said, taking her hand and leading her from the building.

"What? No, we're not letting him kick us out! We have every right to be here," Lorelai said defiantly. "Patty, Babette, tell him we have every right to be here!"

"Lorelai, honey, before you got here, we voted on whether we should be able to kick people out of meetings if they break at least two rules. It was unanimous," Miss Patty lied.

"Sorry, sugar," Babette added. Lorelai glared at the trio, but they refused to back down. She turned on her heel and stalked out, Luke close behind her. Once they were a couple blocks away, Lorelai stopped.

"What?" Luke asked.

"I'm going back."

"They're not going to let you back in."

"I'm going to listen on the other side of the door."

"I'm not coming with you."

"I don't want you to."

"I'll see you at home. Be back soon."

"Okay," Lorelai agreed amiably, before she turned back. She ran all the way back to the Twickham House, and slipped in the back door, creeping through the hallways until she got to the door separating the large room that was being used for the town meetings from the rest of the house.

"Taylor's right, you can't keep Rory and Dean locked up in your studio forever, Patty," Andrew was saying. Lorelai stuck her fist in her mouth to keep from yelling out. "They'll need to get out to eat, and to drink, and to go to the bathroom."

"I gave them bread, and there's a water fountain and bathroom there, and I'm not planning on keeping them there forever."

"I think Patty's idea is a good one," Gypsy piped up. "We can just leave them there until they get back together. Knowing Rory and Dean, it shouldn't take too long. In fact, they'd probably be okay even if they didn't have a water fountain and a bathroom." Lorelai didn't wait to hear anymore. She crept back out so that they wouldn't notice that she had been there and try to stop her, and then she ran to the dance studio as fast as her heels would carry her.

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Rory and Dean were playing charades. It didn't work very well with only two people, but it was fun when there was nothing else to do, since Rory, much to Dean's shock, hadn't brought any reading material with her. "Help me up," Rory said, holding out her hands, "we can do one together."

"Who would guess?"

"It's not like we're really guessing, anyways," she said, waving her hands around. He laughed, and took them, pulling her to her feet a little harder than he needed to. She fell forward onto his chest, and time seemed to stop for them. Her hands slid slowly up to his face, while his slid down to her hips. She tilted her head back, and he leaned his forward slightly. Their lips were inches away.

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Lorelai ran up to Miss Patty's and started fiddling with the lock. She quickly saw that it was a chain wrapped around the handles, with a padlock holding it closed. With much clattering, she managed to open the door enough to peek in. Rory and Dean were standing in the middle of the room, completely oblivious to the racket she had made, staring into each others eyes as they leaned their faces forward. Their noses touched, and they both tilted their heads, and closed the small gap between them. Lorelai pulled back, and slid the door shut as quietly as she could. It clearly hadn't happened fast, they had time to think about what they were doing. And that was good enough for Lorelai. She wouldn't tell Luke about any of it.


	8. Haunted Leg

Plans of Reunion

Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic.

Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai.

Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together.

* * *

"So, Dean," Rory said, curling herself into a ball and rolling backwards so that she fit perfectly into him, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, "what exactly are you doing at college?"

"Studying," he said sleepily into her shoulder, pulling the fleece blanket Miss Patty had left neatly folded on the studio floor more firmly around them.

"You don't like to talk after sex, do you?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh," she said sadly.

"You can talk to me if you want to," she could hear the mirth in his voice.

"Okay," she agreed happily.

"I might not be listening, but you can talk all you want."

"Okay. Did you hear about the time I had to put together an entire newspaper from scratch? We almost didn't get it in on time, and it was all Paris' fault. Oh, and then there was the time I spent a night in jail," she waited. He didn't say anything. "Did I tell you? I got a job at a whorehouse. I was lying about going back to Yale." Dean didn't say anything. He just breathed in, and out, into her ear.

"Are you dead?" she asked. He didn't move except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. "Okay, you're breathing, so I'm pretty sure you're still alive. You're a sound sleeper. Did you know that? I wonder what I'd have to do to wake you up. Don't worry, though. I'm not going to try.

"I love you, Dean," she whispered, her joking air leaving her. "I love you, so while you're asleep, I'm going to tell you something. My boyfriend. He's abusive. Well, not yet, not totally, but he's borderline abusive. I was reading an article about abusive relationships, and the signs. And he's so close. So close. So close to being an abusive partner. I said I stayed with him to make my grandparents happy, but that's not true.

"If I break up with him, I have no future in journalism. His father is Mitchum Huntzberger. _The_ Mitchum Huntzberger. He can ruin my career for good, or send it through the roof with minimal effort."

"Dean. Help me. I'm scared," she pleaded, careful that her voice stayed soft, so that she didn't accidentally wake him up. She tucked herself back into his embrace. She knew that if he had heard, he would do anything to help her. But there was nothing that he could do. And that was why she couldn't really tell him. He wouldn't accept the fact that she had gotten herself into a mess that he couldn't help her out of.


	9. Presenting Lorelai Gilmore

_Plans of Reunion_

_Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic._

_Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai._

_Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together._

_AN: This was supposed to be light, and good-humored. Guess I can cross comedy writer off my list of career choices. I think I need drama to write. _

_Sorry this is taking me so long...I'm having a season 1 Rory/Dean marathon while I try to write. (He's perfect and he smells really good. lol.)_

* * *

Rory woke up happier than she could ever remember waking up in her life. She was with Dean, and nothing else mattered.

"Good morning," she said, turning her head to try to kiss him. As his head was resting on her shoulder, it didn't work very well.

"Rory," he started.

"Oh no. That sounds bad."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"You said my name in that 'we need to talk' voice. What's wrong?" Play it dumb, she decided. Make him think he was dreaming it.

"Um, you said you have a boyfriend," he said awkwardly.

"Yeah," she replied just as awkwardly. She'd cheated on Logan. She had suspected him of cheating on her many times, and, to her surprise, she didn't feel guilty about it all. She was only scared of what might happen if Logan found out. And worried that Dean would feel guilty.

"Are you...um...are you on the pill?" Rory let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Yeah. I am," she grinned in relief. "So, it's all good, right?" Dean was silent. "Right?"

"Well, when I first thought of that, I was just making sure we had some form of protection. I should have asked you last night, but..."

"No, it's fine. I knew, I would have stopped things if I wasn't on some form of birth control."

"But then when I brought it up just now..."

"What?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

"The real world came in."

"What's wrong with the real world?"

"You have a boyfriend in the real world."

She wanted to protest, tell him that it didn't matter. But she didn't know how to do that and keep his friendship.

"Do we just forget last night ever happened?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"Let's practice," Rory suggested.

"Practice what?"

"The dance thing. The thing we're here for."

"Oh. The thing I agreed to do to get Patty to go away."

"That." They laughed, and Dean offered her his arm as if they were back at the debutante ball they learned to dance for.

"Think of my parents," Rory joked as she stepped into Dean's arms again, although in an entirely different context than that of the previous night.


	10. A House Is Not A Home

_Plans of Reunion_

_Summary: The S.H.B.A., S.H.T.B., S.H.N.W.O., S.H.C.C.S.H.C., aka Taylor, want the town sweethearts together again. When he mentions it at a town meeting, everyone starts plotting, and Miss Patty has a plan that just might work. Narco future fic._

_Pairing: Rory/Dean with mentioned Luke/Lorelai._

_Disclaimer: If I were Amy Sherman-Palladino I'd have better things to do than write fan fiction. And you'd be seeing this story unfold onscreen soon. Well, actually you wouldn't, because Rory and Dean would never have broken up in the first place, so the town wouldn't need to plot to get them back together._

* * *

Logan was sitting by the door when Rory stumbled back into the apartment that afternoon.

Miss Patty had worked with them for a couple hours after she came in around noon. She made sure they were properly fed, and they were working so hard, and so well together that she had been left with no choice but to let them leave, although she had seemed rather reluctant to do so.

"Where the hell have you been?" Logan bellowed.

"Dance rehearsal," Rory said, walking towards the large couch situated on the far side of their apartment. Logan reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her told him. She could feel his breath hot against her cheek. She could smell it, and it was free of alcohol, which scared her even more.

_He's not going to hurt me_, she told herself, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm her racing pulse. _He may have potential to become abusive. But he won't. Because I know that he has the potential to, and I won't give him anything to be mad at me about. I just need to explain where I was this time. And there won't be a next time. I'll be safe. My career will be safe._

"Where were you really?" he growled into her ear.

"I told you. Miss Patty locked me into the studio with my partner because she thought it would improve our dancing."

"You mean to tell me that you spent the entire night locked in a building with another man!" he bellowed, his mouth in the same place it had been when he whispered growled threats into her ear. She recoiled from the booming noise.

"We didn't even look at each other," she begged. She could make this better. She _would_ make this better. "Her plan was a total bust." Logan regarded her for what felt like hours before pushing her wrists away from his, standing up, and turning around.

"Sorry," he muttered as her left hand broke her fall. The pain was excruciating.

"Logan," she pleaded, "Logan, I'm hurt." He turned back to her, and helped her up, reaching his arm across her chest to cradle her sprained wrist. He helped her over to the couch, then went to the little kitchenette and got her an ice pack. _How could I have thought he would hurt me on purpose? _Rory asked herself. What she had just experienced was clearly not the start of an abusive relationship. He'd been worried about her. The article hadn't said anything about it starting out with a worried boyfriend. She didn't think. _Good thing Dean didn't hear what I said._

* * *

Miles away, Dean Forester paced his dorm room. He couldn't get those words out of his head. But he couldn't figure out what to do about them, either. 


End file.
